Hi, I'm Deysi from Design Squad Global.

Today we're going on a simple machines search.

Why are simple machines so important?

Because our lives will be much harder if we didn't have simple machines.

A simple machine helps you make work easier by using less force or applying a push or pull in a different direction.

There are six types of simple machines.

And I can use my bike to show you all of them.

One of the most common simple machines is a lever.

It's just a straight stiff bar that turns on a point called a fulcrum.

A lever moves a load on one end, when a force is applied to the other end.

The handlebar's actually a lever.

When I move the handlebar, it pivots right here.

Which makes it very easy to turn the wheel.

It would be really hard to turn the wheel at the fork if you didn't have handlebars.

The next simple machine is the wheel and axle.

Here's the wheel.

It spins on this rod called an axle.

Wheels can help carry heavy loads around for long distances.

The inclined plane is another type of simple machine.

It is a ramp, an angled surface that helps you move objects up and down a height.

Ta-da!

The inclined plane made it much easier for me to take my bike up the stairs.

Another type of simple machine is the screw.

A screw is actually another inclined plane wrapped around a pole in a spiral shape.

Screws can convert a force that goes around and around into a force that goes up and down, like with this press that gets juice out of apples.

There are screws all over this bike holding the different parts of the bike together.

And this chain wheel is a nice example of another simple machine: a pulley.

A pulley is a wheel on an axle that moves things and changes the direction of a push or a pull.

When you push down on the pedal, the front wheel moves the chain, which then turns the rear wheel and moves the bike forward.

And the final simple machine is a wedge.

A wedge is two inclined planes put back-to-back.

You can use a wedge to push two objects apart.

The kind of wedge that I don't want in my bike is this nail.

Especially not in my tire.

A nail would spread apart the rubber material in my tire, and make a hole.

Okay, now that we know about simple machines, let's see if we can find some out in the real world.

And maybe we can find all six.

There's a wedge.

See this wedge keeps this big door open.

Let's see what else we can find.

Check it out, look at those pulleys on that crane.

A crane can have lots of pulleys mounted on axles.

The more pulleys you have, the easier it is to lift something.

Look, it's so cool!

Oh, I see a wheel and some screws together.

So here's the wheel, the axle, and these bolts are a kind of screw.

This was an easy one.

Let's see if we can go find some more simple machines.

Look at this!

This is an inclined plane.

This ramp is especially important for people who use wheelchairs to get around.

It's easier to get from the sidewalk to the street using an inclined plane.

I found another lever.

You pull this down, the pivot's in here, right there, that's the pivot point.

And you put your trash in, and it goes inside the trash.

If you see any inventive uses of simple machines, or if you've used simple machines in any of your designs, let us know on the DSG website.